Les relations entre la nature et les frontières sont traditionnellement conçues comme antagonistes : tandis que la nature ne connaîtrait pas de frontières, le droit public est, d’un point de vue spatial, structuré par les frontières. Le dépassement d’une telle opposition est cependant engagé, sous l’influence de plusieurs facteurs. D’abord, le droit de l’environnement crée ses propres frontières, indépendantes des frontières humaines et calquées sur celles de la nature. Les notions de zonage écologique et, surtout, de réseau écologique participent de ce mouvement. Ensuite, le droit de l’environnement recourt à la coopération transfrontalière, comme technique d’effacement fonctionnel de la frontière politique. Enfin, une complémentarité s’affirme entre le droit de l’environnement et le droit de la coopération transfrontalière infra-étatique. Le droit de coopérer a été reconnu aux collectivités territoriales et aux établissements publics compétents en matière de conservation de la nature, et des outils de coopération relativement adaptés à ce domaine ont été mis à leur disposition. Toutefois, une telle complémentarité est mise à l’épreuve par les différences importantes qui peuvent subsister entre les droits nationaux d’Etats frontaliers et, surtout, par la responsabilisation insuffisante des acteurs de la coopération infra-étatique face aux obligations internationales environnementales. Ainsi, au sein du droit de l’environnement transfrontalier, le secteur émergent de la nature transfrontalière n’est pas encore aussi mature que celui, plus ancien, des pollutions transfrontières. / The opposition between nature and boundaries is well known : whereas nature knows no boundaries, public law is spatially structured by boundaries. However, such an opposition is currently being overcome under the influence of several factors. First, environmental law creates new boundaries that are no longer modelled on human boundaries but on nature ones. The notions of ecological zoning and above all ecological network illustrate this trend. Then, environmental law uses transboundary cooperation to mitigate the effects of boundaries on nature. Eventually, a complementarity is asserted between environmental law and infra-State transboundary cooperation law. The right to cooperate has been recognized to regional and local authorities and to public establishments responsible for nature conservation. Besides, relatively appropriate tools have been made available for cooperation in nature conservation. Nevertheless, this complementarity is being tested by the significant differences that may exist between national laws of neighbouring countries and, above all, by the lack of accountability of infra-State cooperation actors with respect to international environmental obligations. Thus, within transboundary environmental law, the emerging sector of transboundary nature is not as mature as the older one related to transboundary pollutions.

Ce travail de thèse propose une approche pluridisciplinaire de la qualité dans les systèmes de production manufacturiers, couplant les approches d'ingénierie et de sociologie des organisations. Il s'intéresse aux risques de non-conformités qui peuvent se propager dans le processus de réalisation et atteindre le client final. Il est basé sur des études de cas réalisées chez Siemens E T HS (Energy Transmission High-voltage Substation), une entreprise produisant de faibles quantités de matériel haute-tension hautement personnalisé. Il propose tout d'abord une méthode qualité pour améliorer le système de détection des non-conformités en identifiant et en agissant sur ses faiblesses. Dans une deuxième approche, cette thèse propose des instruments organisationnels pour limiter la propagation des non-conformités entre les frontières organisationnelles et améliorer la résilience de l'organisation face à ces problèmes transfrontières. Les deux approches ont été mises en oeuvre dans l'entreprise étudiée puis étendues à une autre entreprise du groupe opérant sur le segment de la production de masse ce qui a permis de tirer des conclusions à la fois académiques et managériales pour les partenaires industriels. / This thesis proposes an interdisciplinary approach of quality in manufacturing production systems that combines quality engineering and organization studies. It is interested in the risk of non-conformities that can propagate in the delivery process and reach the final customer. It builds upon case studies conducted at Siemens ETHS, a company manufacturing low volumes of customized high-voltage equipment. First, a quality methodology is proposed to improve the detection system of non-conformities by identifying its weaknesses and acting on them. A second approach proposes organizational mechanisms to avoid non-conformity propagation between organizational boundaries and improve the organizational resilience in case of transboundary problems. Both approaches have been implemented in the company under study and then extended to another company of the group operating in the high volume field, what enabled the researcher to draw academic conclusions as well as to build practical knowledge for the industrial partners.

A Lei n° 9.433/1997 que institui a Política Nacional de Recursos Hídricos (PNRH) congrega as principais diretrizes de planejamento do uso da água a partir da incorporação de importantes Princípios como o do gerenciamento integrado dos recursos hídricos, gestão participativa, integralidade da bacia hidrográfica como interconexão de sistemas de águas superficiais e subterrâneas para gestão interna, resolução pacífica de conflitos, dentre outros. No contexto transfronteiriço, os contornos da cooperação podem ser tanto um instrumento facilitador como complicador das políticas hídricas a serem executadas, uma vez que à luz do Direito Internacional, as intervenções no território de um Estado devem seguir os Princípios da não intervenção, independência e soberania o que demanda uma política de coordenação internacional entre eles. Para estabelecer os contornos internacionais a respeito do que se pretende acerca de recursos naturais transfronteiriços, é usual o surgimento de regimes específicos, com tratado próprio, muitas vezes excetuado do regramento geral internacional. A fim de analisar o quadro jurídico aplicável no contexto hídrico transfronteiriço amazônico a presente tese parte do ordenamento jurídico brasileiro em matéria de gerenciamento de recursos hídricos e aplica, a partir da dimensão internacional, três esferas de análise dos Princípios da troca de informações e estudos prospectivos, solução pacífica dos conflitos, e da participação pública, nas seguintes perspectivas: 1. multilateral, no âmbito da OTCA; 2. bilateral/trilateral, na formação de instâncias ad hoc para a solução de conflitos; 3. local, na formação de Comitês de bacia internacional. / The Brazilian statute n. 9.433/1997 institutes the National Policy of Water Courses, which contains the most important parameters to set policies in this regard and is widely based on international principles, such as the principles of the integrated management of transboundary basins, integrality of the basins, interconnection between ground and surface water, as well as the peaceful settlement of disputes. Transboundary situations may foster or obtrude cooperation to set and execute water policies, since, accordingly to the international law, a state are not allowed to intervene in the territory of other states, because they are independent and sovereign. The only way to harmonize policies is international cooperation. In order to establish the international limits to the use of natural transboundary resources some international regimes usually arouse and are, sometimes, established by treaties which differ from general international law. Aiming to analyze the legal framework applicable to the Amazon transboundary waters, this thesis starts with a study of the Brazilian legal system regarding water resources management and employs, departing from an international perspective, three levels of analysis of principles that refer to exchange of information, prospective studies, peaceful settlement of disputes, and public participation, from the following perspectives: 1. multilateral, under the ACTO regime 2. Bi- and trilateral, when ad hoc instances are created to settle the disputes 3. Local, through the creation of International Basin Committees

Processos acelerados de globalização induzem a exploração intensiva de recursos naturais em grande escala e a construção de megaprojetos que muitas vezes transpassam as fronteiras dos países. Neste contexto, a Avaliação de Impacto Ambiental Transfronteiriça (AIA-T) se converte em uma ferramenta essencial da gestão ambiental, pois tem o potencial de apoiar a tomada de decisões que podem afetar mais de um país e assim contribuir para evitar conflitos internacionais. Contudo, a implementação desta ferramenta ainda encontra muitos desafios, por tratar de temas delicados e complexos como as relações internacionais ou a soberania dos estados. No contexto mundial, apenas a União Europeia apresenta um marco normativo claro e bem estabelecido para aplicação da AIA-T de projetos, restando às demais regiões um longo caminho a ser percorrido. A América do Sul passa atualmente por um intenso processo de integração física baseado em um amplo programa de investimentos denominado \"Iniciativa para a Integração da Infraestrutura Regional Sul-Americana\" (IIRSA), que vem promovendo alterações ambientais significativas em toda a região, sobretudo no âmbito dos países amazônicos, sem contar com um arcabouço institucional que assegure a avaliação dos impactos transfronteiriços e a sua incorporação aos procedimentos de aprovação e implantação dos projetos associados. Sendo assim, a presente pesquisa de Mestrado visou investigar a existência de marcos institucionais e metodológicos que pudessem fornecer suporte para a aplicação da AIA-T nos países amazônicos e avaliar sua proximidade com os princípios e boas práticas desta ferramenta em nível mundial. Através de revisão bibliográfica, documental e estudos de caso, os resultados encontrados indicam que a AIA-T deve integrar os procedimentos de tomada de decisão que envolvem os países amazônicos, de modo a assegurar o cumprimento dos compromissos internacionais já assumidos em torno da proteção do ecossistema amazônico e o gerenciamento adequado dos impactos ambientais transfronteiriços. / Intensive natural resources exploitation has been accelerated at large scale by globalization processes in the last years, and its impacts might overstep political boundaries. In this scenario, the transboundary environmental impact assessment (hereafter TEIA) has become an integrated approach and essential tool for international environmental management, supporting decision taking processes with the potential to prevent cross border conflicts. Nonetheless, the implementation is still challenging due to the political and social complexity of international relationships and sovereignty of the countries involved. Hitherto just the European Union has been consolidated a clear normative framework in the implementation of TEIA. Conversely in South America this framework is not clear, due to the lack of institutional structure to set up an appropriate environmental assessment scheme, despite that nowadays several megaprojects have been established under the denominated \"Iniciativa para la Integración de la Infraestructura Regional Sur-Americana\" (IIRSA) – the South-American regional integrative infrastructure initiative- and serious pervasive effects associated in the environment have been recorded, being more notorious in the Amazon region, due to the inherent vulnerability of this biome. In this context, the present master dissertation discussed from a comprehensive literature and policies review and study cases, the institutional and methodological framework as the normative base of the TEIA, as well as to assess good practices for environmental impact assessment of development projects in countries within the Amazon biome. In overall TEIA must integrate the decision taking procedures of countries with influence of the Amazon biome in order to guarantee fulfil previously undertaken international agreements that protect the Amazon ecosystem, and the suitable management of environmental impacts at frontiers, and consequently to prevent future scenarios of international dispute.

Kosovo is a disputed territory, in conflict with Serbia, the country it declared independence from in 1999. The two states share water resource, in the form of the Ibër river. Kosovo is facing issues of water scarcity and the water it has access to is heavily polluted with untreated wastewater metallurgy waste.Kosovo does not only have poor relations with Serbia, there are also conflict within Kosovo with communities of both Kosovo Albanian majority and Serb majority. These communities have shown different willingness to cooperate over the water management of the Ibër river basin. Cooperating over shared water resources have in other cases been used as a way to improve on relations in conflict affected societies, through environmental peacemaking. In this case study, the environmental and socio-political conditions for environmental peacemaking is investigated through interviews of municipal and regional stakeholders, involved in the management of the Ibër river basin. Interviews were conducted with two municipal employees and one representative from the regional river basin authority in Kosovo. These interviews were complemented with a comprehensive literature review. The findings were analysed, using a conceptual framework developed to analyse and compare different cases of environmental peacemaking. The conceptual framework consists of six elements: resource scarcity, interdependence, lack of environmental sustainability, mutual interests, shared values, and power (a)symmetries. External actions and interests was also included as an element to reveal in what way external actors can intervene and assist in improving relations through environmental peacemaking initiatives. The analysis concluded that the Ibër river basin is in a need of transboundary management to improve on the water quality in a more effective and efficient way. The resource scarcity that is currently facing the stakeholders could be used as a cooperative trigger between the different actors. And while there is a lot of complexity to within the socio-political conditions, the interviewees express the need and interest for increased cooperation. This indicates that increased collaboration could be possible, but most likely there would be a need for external interventions to create an ongoing dialogue, that in turn can build trust between the conflicting parties. / <p>Remote presentation on Teams</p>

Dès le début du 20ème siècle, les eaux souterraines de l’aquifère transfrontalier Milk River (MRA) ont constitué une importante ressource dans le sud de l’Alberta (Canada) et le nord du Montana (USA). L’utilisation intensive de cette ressource sous un climat semi-aride a provoqué une baisse importante des niveaux d’eau localement, si bien que des inquiétudes concernant la pérennité du MRA sont apparues dès les années 60. Les études précédentes du MRA étaient limitées par les frontières nationales, empêchant ainsi une compréhension complète de la dynamique de l’aquifère. L’objectif de cette thèse était de réaliser une étude transfrontalière du MRA afin de caractériser cette ressource régionale d’eau souterraine selon ses limites naturelles. À cette fin, trois modèles transfrontaliers ont été réalisés: un modèle géologique, un modèle conceptuel hydrogéologique et un modèle numérique d’écoulement souterrain. Des travaux de terrain de part et d’autre de la frontière Canada/USA et une revue de littérature exhaustive des études précédentes ont supporté la réalisation de ces modèles. De plus, une première évaluation des niveaux d’exploitation historiques du MRA a été réalisée en Alberta.Le modèle géologique 3D (50 000 km2) représente le MRA (Membre Virgelle de la Formation Milk River/Eagle) et ses unités confinantes continûment à travers la frontière internationale. Le développement de ce modèle a requis une harmonisation des nombreuses nomenclatures stratigraphiques de la région et la délimitation transfrontalière du MRA.Le modèle conceptuel hydrogéologique du MRA a montré deux flux d’écoulement souterrains transfrontaliers, dirigés du Montana vers l’Alberta. La Milk River intercepte la majeure partie du flux souterrain venant du sud, si bien que l’écoulement au nord de la rivière est très faible. Les analyses isotopiques confirment que les eaux du MRA sont principalement fossiles à l’exception de la zone de recharge située le long de la zone d’affleurement du MRA. Les zones du MRA avec une forte conductivité hydraulique et de faibles concentrations en chlorures correspondent à des voies d’écoulement préférentielles. L’émergence des eaux du MRA a lieu via la drainance à travers les unités confinantes notamment le long des vallées enfouies.Le modèle numérique (26 000 km2) d’écoulement souterrain du MRA en régime permanent est une transposition des modèles géologique et conceptuel. Il montre que le modèle conceptuel précédemment développé est hydrauliquement plausible. Le modèle d’écoulement donne une meilleure compréhension du système aquifère en représentant la dynamique de l’écoulement souterrain dans la situation pré-exploitation. Le traçage de particules indique des temps de résidence advectifs de près de 750 000 ans à la limite nord du MRA, ce qui est inférieur aux âges obtenus par les analyses isotopiques (2 Ma).Les bilans en eau des modèles conceptuels et numériques montrent tous les deux que l'extraction de l'eau souterraine dépasse de loin la recharge au nord de la Milk River.Un modèle d'écoulement transitoire serait requis pour définir le volume d'eau provenant de l'emmagasinement dans le MRA et préciser le rôle des aquitards durant le pompage. Par ailleurs, en tant que ressource internationale partagée, une gestion transfrontalière des eaux du MRA serait justifiée dans la région comprise entre la zone de recharge au Montana et le sud de la Milk River en Alberta. Ainsi, ces trois modèles transfrontaliers du MRA forment une base commune internationale de connaissances scientifiques à l'échelle de l'aquifère et pourraient supporter l'évaluation future du meilleur usage possible de cette ressource partagée et limitée. De futurs travaux peuvent inclure l'effet des champs de gaz localisés aux limites du MRA et les conditions paléo-hydrogéologiques liées à l'évolution géochimiqie de l'au souterraine. / Since the beginning of the 20th century, groundwater from the Milk River Aquifer (MRA) has been an important water resource in southern Alberta (Canada) and northern Montana (USA). The intensive use of this resource under a semi-arid climate has locally led to important drops in waters levels, thus raising concerns on the MRA sustainability since the 1960’s. Previous MRA studies were limited by the national boundaries, thus preventing a full understanding of the aquifer dynamics. The objective of this thesis was to carry out a transboundary study of the MRA to define this regional groundwater resource within its natural boundaries. For this purpose, three cross-border models were developed: a geological model, a conceptual hydrogeological model and a numerical groundwater flow model. These developments were supported by focused field work on both sides of the Canada/USA border and a comprehensive review of previous studies. Furthermore, a first assessment of the historical exploitation levels of the MRA was done for southern Alberta.The 3D geological model (50,000 km2) continuously represents the MRA (Virgelle Member of the Milk River/Eagle Formation) and confining units through the international border. Development of this model required harmonization of various stratigraphic nomenclatures in the study area and the transboundary delineation of the MRA extent.The hydrogeological conceptual model of the MRA indicated two transboundary groundwater fluxes from Montana to Alberta. The Milk River intercepts most of the groundwater flux incoming from the south, thus leading to limited groundwater flow north of the Milk River. Isotopic analyses confirm that the MRA contains mostly fossil groundwater, with the exception of the recharge area located along the outcrop area of the aquifer. Areas within the MRA with a high hydraulic conductivity and low chloride concentrations correspond to preferential groundwater flowpaths. Discharge from the aquifer occurs as vertical leakage through the overlying confining units, especially along bedrock valleys.The numerical steady-state groundwater flow model of the aquifer system (26,000 km2) is a transposition of the geological and conceptual models, and it shows that the previously developed conceptual model is hydraulically plausible. The groundwater flow model provides a better understanding of the aquifer system by representing the dynamics of groundwater flow under pre-development conditions. Particle tracking indicates advective residence times of up to 750,000 years in the northern limit of the aquifer, which is lower than ages obtained from isotopic analyses (2 Ma).The area south of the Milk River benefits from all of the transboundary groundwater flux from Montana whereas north of the Milk River, only a portion of the recharge flux coming from the south is transmitted due to the interception of the Milk River.Groundwater budgets from both the conceptual and numerical models show that groundwater extraction far exceeds recharge north of the Milk River. A transient model would be required to determine how much water is derived from storage in the MRA and to assess the role of the confining units during pumping. Furthermore, as an internationally shared resource, a transboundary management of the MRA would be appropriate, especially in the area comprised between the recharge area in Montana and the Canadian reach of the Milk River.Together, these transboundary models of the MRA constitute a common international basis of scientific knowledge at the aquifer scale and could support further assessments of the best possible exploitation of the shared but limited resource.Future works could include the study of the effects of the gas fields located at the limits of the MRA as well as paleo-hydrogeological conditions relative to the geochemical evolution of groundwater.

This dissertation reviews the progress in climate, land, energy and water (CLEW) multi-scale models and proposes a framework for quantitative assessment of multi-sector long-term policies. The so-called CLEW nexus approaches have shown their usefulness in assessing strategies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the contexts of increasing demands, resource scarcity, and climate change. This thesis contributes to existing research by (1) focusing on the palette of feasible long-term sustainable solutions at different scales to face current and future sustainable development challenges; (2) improving understanding of how CLEW models can best advise on sustainable development research and highlighting the strengths and limitations of existing configurations; (3) inquiring what is needed for new tools to be accessible, transferable and successful in informing the final user. This dissertation first reviews a set of models that can meet the needs of decision makers discussing research gaps and critical needs and opportunities for further model development from a scientific viewpoint. Particular attention is given to model accessibility, usability, and community support. The review explores at different scales where and why some nexus interactions are most relevant, finding, for example, that both very small scale and global models tend to neglect some CLEW interactions. This dissertation also presents the Nexus Solutions Tool (NEST): a new open modeling platform that integrates multi-scale energy-water-land resource optimization with distributed hydrological modeling. The new approach provides insights into the vulnerability of water, energy and land resources to future socioeconomic and climatic change and how multi-sectoral policies, technological solutions and investments can improve the resilience and sustainability of transformation pathways while avoiding counterproductive interactions among sectors. Finally, a case study analysis of the Indus River Basin in South Asia demonstrates the capability of the NEST framework to capture important interlinkages across system transformation pathways towards the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. The results show how the Indus countries could lower costs for development and reduce soil pollution and water stress, by cooperating on water resources, electricity and food production. / Graduate

The growing importance to finding workable solutions to the problem of unsustainable and inefficient resource use cannot be overstated.  In the world facing one of its critical sustainability periods, efficient resource utilization to ensure sustainable development is a problem policymakers should grapple with at a loc, regional and local levels. Because of this, the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) nexus has seen a growing number of proponents and supporters worldwide.  This thesis examines the WEFE nexus and its relevance for sustainable resource management, focusing on South Africa’s Inkomati-Usuthu Water Management Area (IUWMA).  WEFE nexus criticizes existing sector-based approaches for their limited recognition of cross-sectoral linkages.  This thesis presents a systematic review of the WEFE nexus in the IUWMA, identifying policy gaps and making recommendations to enhance integrated resource and environmental management based on the WEFE nexus approach.  The findings highlight various factors affecting energy generation, agriculture, water quality and quantity, and ecosystem-related factors within the IUWMA.  The thesis also provides an overview of critical policies related to the WEFE nexus in the IUWMA, demonstrating coherence (or lack thereof) and environmental considerations, and international cooperation.  The implementation of the WEFE nexus policy faces opportunities in collaboration but challenges such as institutional barriers, knowledge gaps, and limited political will.  The IUWMA also presents a complicated case owing to its transboundary nature, to which special attention must be paid when considering WEFE nexus approaches.  The discussion emphasizes the need for a holistic WEFE nexus approach to avoid inefficiencies and conflicts and calls for strong governance structures and equitable resource allocation.  Implementing the WEFE nexus approach can foster collaboration, sustainable resource management, land resilience to climate change impacts with political support, regional cooperation, and stakeholder engagement.

Since 2002, NASA's GRACE Satellite mission has allowed scientists of various disciplines to analyze and map the changes in Earth's total water storage on a global scale. Although the raw data is available to the public, the process of viewing, manipulating, and analyzing the GRACE data can be difficult for those without strong technological backgrounds in programming or geospatial software. This is particularly true for water managers in developing countries, where GRACE data could be a valuable asset for sustainable water resource management. To address this problem, I have a developed a utility for subsetting GRACE data to particular regions of interest and I have packaged that utility in a web app that allows water managers to quickly and easily visualize GRACE data these regions. Using the GLDAS-Noah Land Surface Model, the total water storage for the regions derived from the raw GRACE data is decomposed into surface water, soil moisture, and groundwater components. The GRACE Groundwater Subsetting Tool is easily deployed, open-source, and provides access to all of the major signal processing solutions available for the total water storage data. The application has been successfully applied to both developed and developing countries in various parts of the world, including the Central Valley region in California, Bangladesh, the La Plata River Basin in South America, and the SERVIR Hindu Kush Himalaya region. The groundwater data in this application has proven capable of monitoring groundwater use based on drought trends as well as agricultural demand in a number of locations and can assist in uniting decision makers and water users in the mission of sustainably managing the world's groundwater resources.

Recognising water as a central relational location of the asymmetric Israel- Palestinian conflict, this study critically analyses the peacebuilding significance of Israeli, transboundary water and peace practitioner discourses. Anchored in a theoretically-constructed framework of hydropolitical peacebuilding, it discursively analyses the historical, officially-sanctioned, as well as academic and civil society water and peace relations of Israelis and Palestinians. It responds to the question: How are Israeli water and peace practitioners discursively practicing hydropolitical peacebuilding in the Middle East? In doing so, this study has drawn upon a methodology of interpretive practice, combining ethnography, foucauldian discourse analysis and narrative inquiry. This study discursively traces Israel¿s development into a hydrohegemonic state in the Jordan River Basin, from the late-19th century to 2011. Recognising conflict as a power-laden social system, it makes visible the construction, production and circulation of Israel¿s power in the basin. It examines key narrative elements invoked by Israel to justify its evolving asymmetric, hydrohegemonic relations. Leveraging the hydropolitical peacebuilding framework, itself constituted of equality, partnership, equity and shared ii sustainability, this study also examines the discursive practices of Israeli transboundary water and peace practitioners in relationship with Palestinians. In so doing, it makes visible their hydrohegemony, hydropolitical peacebuilding, and hydrohegemonic residues. This study¿s conclusions re-affirm earlier findings, notably that environmental and hydropolitical cooperation neither inherently nor necessarily constitute peacebuilding practice. This work also suggests that hydropolitical peacebuilding may discursively be recognised in water and peace practices that engage, critique, resist, desist from, and practice alternative relational formations to hydrohegemony in asymmetric conflicts. / British Council/Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Fonds québecois de recherche sur la société et la culture (FQRSC).